Device for guiding flow of material in magnetic separators



' Aug, 26, 1947. c. J; JQHN S Q DEVICE FOR GUIDING FLOW OF MATERIALIN'MAGNETIC SEPARATORS Filed July 15, 1945 hymen/Toe CLAUSJJONNS N, BY

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separator.

Patented Aug. 26, 1947 DEVICE FOR, GUIDING FLOW OF MATERIAL 'IN MAGNETICSEPARATORS Claus J. Johnson, Columbus, Ohio, assignor to The JeffreyCompany, a corporation of Ohio Application July 15, 1943, Serial No.494,831

Claims. (01. 209-232) This invention relates to a magnetic separator.

An object of the invention is to provide simple but eincient mechanismto insure a thorough treatment of the material subjected to theseparating action and more specifically an object of the invention is toprovide guide blocks which guide the ore pulp onto the separatingsurface of a separator drum or the like and to require the liquidflowing over the gangue lip or weir to flow under said separatingsurface.

Other objects of the invention will appear hereinafter, the novelfeatures and combinations being set forth in the appended claims.

In the accompanying drawings,

Fig. 1 is a side elevational view with parts in section showing anapparatus incorporating the features of my invention;

Fig. 2 is an enlarged sectional View taken on the line 22 of Fig. 1,looking in the direction of the arrows; and

Fig. 3 is an enlarged sectional view taken on the line 33 of Fig. 1,looking in the direction of the arrows.

The invention herein disclosed relates to an improvement on the magneticseparator disclosed in the application of William 'H. Newton, entitledMagnetic separator, Serial No. 494,489, filed July 13, 1943, and thepatent to Percy L. Steffensen, 2,160,628, dated May 30, 1939, for aMagnetic It is to be understood that unless a contrary fact is indicatedthe separator of my invention follows that of the above mentionedapplication and patent.

The separator of my invention includes a main frame It which is builtupof a group of upright posts connected by longitudinally extending topand bottom side frame members, all preferably made of wood or steel andtransversely extending frame members-illustrated in the drawings asangle members.

Mounted between the side members of the main frame I0 is a woodseparator box II which is illustrated in the drawings as formed in twocompartments, l2 and I3, though the number of said compartments may beincreased or reduced. The compartments I2 and [3 provide for successivetreatments of magnetic ore containing magnetic as well as gangueparticles and the structure of these two compartments is essentially thesame except for differences which are obvious, that is, the'compartmentl2 receives the original ore to be treated by way of a feed chute l4 andguides this ore, Whichis preferably minus inch in size, toa feedcompartment where it is carried by an upward current of waterwinto.contact with the separating drum and finally the concentrate isdelivered over a weir or lip 15 to a feed chute it of compartment l3.The gangue or tailings of compartment I2 are delivered to a tailingschute therein similar to that in compartment [3, hereinafter describedmore completely.

The ore received by feed chute I6 is delivered thereby to the feedchamber or well ll. Extending transversely between the side walls of thecompartment I3 of box I I is a gangue or tailings chute I8 which at itscenterfeeds to a downwardly extending discharge chute 19 which extendsthrough the bottom of the box II and delivers the gangue or tailings toany desired receptacle. The water and tailings flowing into the chute l8flow over a weir or lip 20 which determines the water level within thefeed chamber or well it. It is thus evident that the tailings chute I3is positioned between the feed chute i6 and the feed chamber or well l1.

Mounted upon the main frame Ill is a pair of drums 2| and 22, the formerbeing associated with compartment [2 and the latter being associatedwith compartment I3. Said drums 2| and 22 are preferably non-magnetic ontheir cylindrical gathering surfaces though the ends need not beentirely of non-magnetic material. The bottom of the drum 22 ispositioned adjacent the top of the feed chamber or well I1 and extendsbelow the water level therein so that the ore pulp which flows upwardlythrough the feed chamber ll under the influence of the feed water willcome into contact with the bottom surface of said drum 22 so that themagnetic particles or constituents thereof may be caused to adhere tothe gathering surfaceor periphery of the drum 22 underthe influence ofelectromagnets 23 which are positioned within the drum 22, as disclosedmore completely in the above mentioned patent to Percy L. Steffensen.

Adjacent the feed chamber or well l1 and positioned toward the dischargechute with re spect thereto is a wash chamber or well 24. The feedchamber Hand the wash chamber 24 are separated by a transverselyextending inverted V-type partition 25 adjacent the top edge of which isa transversely extending strip 26 preferably formed of rubber, belting,canvas, or the like, which provides a restricting orifice 2! with thedrum 22 through which the concentrate moves in adherence with the drum22 and through which clean water flows in a reverse direction .underahead of :water provided in the wash chamber or well 24 as indicated bythe waterlzlineizfl therein. i

Positioned above the water line 28 and adjacent the right hand end, asviewed in Fig. l, is a concentrate discharge chute 29 over which theconcentrated magnetic material flows when released after passing out ofthe field of the electromagnets 23. To prevent short circuiting of thewater flowing from the wash chamber 24 into the feed chamber l1 and toinsure its flowing into the orifice 21, flexible strips 30 are providedwhich are disclosed in complete detail and claimed in the aboveidentified application of William H. Newton. Water is provided forchambers or wells l1 and 24 by virtue of a water main 3! and individualfeed pipes 32 and 33 are provided for the chambers I1 and 24,respectively, the liquid flow to said chambers being controlled byindividual valves. It is evident that to effect efiicient separation ofthe gangue and magnetic constituents of the ore pulp, said ore pulp mustnot be allowed to fiow over the lip 20 of the tailings chute l8 withouthaving passed under the cylindrical or gathering surface of the drum 22.In other words, it must not be permitted to flow freely along the endsof the drum 22 and over the lip or weir 24. Furthermore, it is desirablethat as the pulp moves upwardly through the feed chamber I! it bedirected against the cylindrical or gathering surface of the drum 22 andinwardly of each of the end edges of said drum. To this end I haveprovided arcuate filler blocks along each side wall of the box ll, oneof said blocks being seen at 34.

As illustrated particularly in Fig. 1 of the drawings, the bottom ofeach arcuate block 34 extends the full length of the feed chamber orwell I1 between the partition 25 and the gangue or tailings chute [8.The length in this case is understood to mean the dimension parallelwith the longitudinal axis of the main frame It! and at right angles tothe axis of rotation of the drum 22. The bottom of the block 34 slopesupwardly and inwardly at 35 (see Fig. 2) from the adjacent side wall ofbox I I.

As clearly illustrated in Fig. 2 of the drawings, the upper and inneredge of the slope 35 of block 34 extends inwardly from the edge of thedrum 22, or in other Words, extends to a position appreciably inwardfrom the end of the drum 22 so that as the ore pulp flows upwardlythrough the feed chamber l'l it will be guided along a path which willbring it into contact with the drum 22 or the magnetic materialgathering surface. This will, of course, enhance the efiiciency ofseparation of the gangue and magnetic material constituents of the orepulp. Furthermore, the block 34 has the lower portion thereof arcuate inshape to follow the general configuration of the drum 22 and it isspaced slightly below the drum 22 and below the water levelof the waterin the chamber 21 which flows into the gangue or tailings chute l8 overthe lip or weir 2B. The weir or lip 20 is the top edge of a transverselyextending board or other member 36 which extends the full width of thechamber I1 and forms a sloping surface leading up to the gangue ortailings chute l8.

Each of the blocks 34 extends completely over the board 36 and along theside wall of the box I I up to the partition which separates feed chutel6 and gangue or tailings chute l8 and this portion of each block 34extends above the Water level in the feed chamber or well ll. As aconsequence, each of the blocks 34 extends both below and above thewater level in said feed chamber or well I1. Furthermore, it is to benoted that the width of the block 34 is greater above the cross board 36than it is adjacent the top opening of the feed chamber or well I! andthis greater width of block 34 extends throughout the entire upperportion thereof until the uppermost end of said block 34 contacts theaforementioned partition between the feed chute l6 and the tailingschute l8 which partition is designated by the reference character 31. Itis furthermore to be particularly noted that this widened portion ofblock 34 extends both above and below the water level which isdetermined by the weir or lip 20. As a consequence, each of the blocks34 adjacent each side wall of the box II has a widened portion whichacts as a bafile and extends inwardly from the adjacent side wall so asto overlap appreciably the outer portions or ends of the drum 22.Furthermore, these baflles or blocks 34 extend in a vertical plane froma position below the water level in feed chamber I"! to a position abovethe water level therein as approximately determined by the weir or lip20. As a consequence, it is impossible for the liquid and gangue ortailings carried in suspension thereby to flow from the feed chamber llalong the ends of the drum 22 since such liquid will be deflected by theblocks or baffles 34 and caused to move inwardly under the surface ofthe magnetic material gathering drum 22, thus assuring that the materialbeing borne by the water from the feed chamber I! to the gangue ortailings chute [8 will be subjected to the influence of theelectromagnets 23. As a consequence of this the magnetic fractionsthereof will adhere to the rotated drum 22 and be carried thereby towardthe concentrate discharge chute 29 as the drum rotates in the directionof the arrows in Fig. 1 of the drawings.

Rotation of the drums 2| and 22 is provided by virtue of an electricmotor 38 which drives the drum 2| through a chain and sprocket drivemechanism 39, said drums 2| and 22 being interconnected to be driven inunison by chain and sprocket drive mechanism 40.

To review briefly the operation of the device, the ore to be treated,such as iron ore having both magnetic fractions as well as ganguefractions and preferably of reduced size such as minus inch, is fed tothe feed chute of the compartment l2 and is subjected to a treatingaction in said compartment [2 which is later duplicated in compartment[3, as hereinafter described more completely. If only a singlecompartment separator is employed then, of course, all the treatmentwill be carried out in one compartment but if a multiple compartment isemployed, such as illustrated in the drawings, the concentrate from thefirst compartment will be subjected to one or more re-treatments. In anycase, the concentrate delivered from the first compartment will havemost of the gangue removed and consequently the percentage of gangue andconcentrate will be diiferent in each succeeding treatmentfthepercentage of gangue being successively decreased with each successivetreatment. As the material is received in compartment [3 by way of feedchute IE it will be delivered to the feed chamber I! and formed as apulp by virtueof an upward current of water supplied by the feed pipe32. As a consequence','the ore pulp will flow upwardly and be directedaway from the edges of the drum 22 and toward the eifective centralportion thereof, particularly by virtue of the sloping surface 35 or thetwo guide blocks 34. The magnetic fractions will adhere to the rotatingdrum 22 and be carried thereby, ultimately to be discharged over thechute 29. The water and gangue will flow from the chamber ll over theweir 25 into the gangue or tailings chute l8 and any material carried bysaid flowing water will be subjected to the magnetic field of theelectromagnets 23. Since the blocks or bailies 34 require liquid totravel under the drum surface 223' to reach the gangue or tailings chutel8 the concentrate which clings to the gathering surface or drum 22 willtend to form in bunches about the poles of the electromagnets 23 andindividual particles will literally jump from one zone of concentratesto another under the influence of the rotating drum 22 until they areultimately released as they are drawn out of the influence of theelectromagnets 23 adjacent the right hand end of the drum 22 as viewedin Fig. 1, whereupon they will fall by gravity as a dewateredconcentrate onto the discharge chute 25;. If desired, some mechanismsuch as a scraper or water spray may be employed to aid in releasing thematerial from the drum 22.

As the material passes through the orifice 2'! it will be subjected to acleaning action by virtue of the revers travel of water through saidorifice under the head of water in the well 24 which is greater than thehead of water in the well H. in other words, the concentrate will movein one direction on the surface of the drum 22 through the orifice 2'1and the water will flow in an opposite direction through said orificefrom the chamber or well 24 to the chamber or well i: and ultimately, ofcourse, to the gangue or tailings chute iii. Furthermore, as theconcentrate leaves the surface of the water in well 24 there will beadditional highly effective cleanaction should any gangue particles be tor otherwise adhere to the magnetic mes this position.

Obviously those skilled in the art may make various changes in thedetails and arrange ment of without departing from the spirit scope ofthe invention as defined by the claims hereto appended, and I wishtherefore not to be restricted to the precise construction hereindisclosed.

Having thus described and shown an embodi ment of my invention, what Inow desire to secure by Letters Patent of the United States is:

1. A separator box including side walls, means providing a feed chamberbetween said side walls, a gangue lip across one end of said feedchamber over which liquid and gangue flow from said feed chamber, meansfor feeding liquid and ore to said feed chamber, and means includinginwardly extending guide blocks adjacent opposite side walls of saidfeed chamber and at opposite ends of said lip and having arcuate uppersurfaces extending both above and below the liquid line of said feedchamber and said lip which operate to compel the liquid to flow inwardlyof the feed chamber side walls and inwardly of the inner ends of saidguide blocks before flowing from said feed chamber over said lip intosaid gangue trough.

2. A separator box including side walls, a magof said chamber positionedto insure a water level in said chamber above said gathering surface sowater and material moving upwardly in said feed chamber and over saidlip will contact said surface, means including guide blocks extendinginwardly from the sides of said feed chute and overlapping below saidsurface and extending both above and below the water level to guide thewater and material onto said surface between its side edges prior to itsflowing over said gangue lip, and means for feeding magnetic bearingmaterial and water to said feed chamber.

3. A magnetic separator box including side walls, means providing a feedchamber between said side walls, a gangue lip adjacent said chamber overwhich liquid and gangue flow from said chamber, means for feeding oreand water to said feed chamber, and inwardly extending guide block meansadjacent the ends of said lip and adjacent the sides of said chamberhaving upwardly sloping surfaces to guide the flow of water inwardly ofsaid chamber adjacent the gangue lip.

4. A magnetic separator box including side walls, means providing a feedchamber between said side walls, a gangue lip adjacent said chamber overwhich liquid and gangue flow from said chamber, means for feeding oreand water to said feed chamber, and horizontally extending guide meansadjacent the sides of said chamber to guide the flow of water inwardlyof said chamber adjacent the gangue lip.

5. A separator box including side walls, a magnetic drum rotatablebetween said side walls and having a bottom arcuate gathering surface, afeed chamber in said box below said gathering surface, a gangue lipacross one side of said chamber positioned to insure a water level insaid -chamber above said gathering surface so water and material movingupwardly in said feed chamber and over said lip will contact saidsurface, means including guide blocks extending inwardly from the sidesof said feed chute and adjacent the ends of said gangue lip and eachhaving an arcuate upper surface conforming to the curvature of saiddrum, said arcuate upper surface overlapping said gathering surface andbeing located below said drum and extending both above and below thewater level and above and below said gangue lip, each guide block alsohaving a bottom upwardly and inwardly sloping surface to deflect thewater inwardly away from said side walls and onto said drum gatheringsurface between said side walls and. to insure movement of said waterover said drum gathering surface before flowing over said lip, and meansfor feeding magnetic material and water to said feed chamber.

CLAUS J. JOHNSON.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file ofthis patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 430,280 Edison June 17, 18902,160,628 Stefienson May 30, 1939 2,254,145 Hill Aug. 26, 1941 1,166,882Beaumont Jan. 4, 1916

